Quick summary: Guatemala’s stock exchange is the Bolsa de Valores Nacional (BVN), operating since 1987. Its investment page describes government Treasury bonds, Banco de Guatemala CDPs, company pagarés, short repos and shares. The BVN reported Q798,867,383,245.71 and US$6,306,267,382.87 traded in 2026 up to 7 October 2026. You invest only through an Agente de Bolsa (broker). Under the small-investor Treasury bond programme, an individual can buy from Q5,000 up to Q1,000,000 per fiscal year, with brokers’ commission factors of 0.22% to 0.54% in the BVN’s table, calculated by different methods (flat, mixed or annualised) and with minimum amounts that vary by broker. Everything here was read on the BVN’s website on 8 October 2026.
This page describes what the exchange publishes. It is not investment advice, and the BVN’s own small-investor page reminds readers that every investment carries a degree of risk for the investor to take.
What the BVN is
- A private company. The BVN describes itself as a sociedad anónima with 50 shareholders, 21 of them Agentes de Bolsa. Its full list of brokers, read 8 October 2026, has 19 firms.
- A venue for brokers. It provides the place, systems and rules; the trades are made by Agentes de Bolsa, for their own account or for clients.
- Settlement. After a trade, it settles in Central de Valores Nacional, S.A. (CVN), a BVN subsidiary that began operating in 2011. The BVN says CVN holds in custody securities issued locally and in foreign markets.
- The law. The Ley del Mercado de Valores y Mercancías (Decreto 34-96) governs the market. Securities must be registered in the Registro del Mercado de Valores before trading on the BVN, and each issue comes with a prospectus that the BVN publishes.
What trades on it
| Instrument | Issuer | What the BVN says about it |
|---|---|---|
| Bonos del Tesoro AC (electronic book-entry) | State of Guatemala, through the Ministerio de Finanzas Públicas | Terms of up to 15 years; pay a coupon; minimum investment Q1,000.00 |
| CERTIBONOS (paper certificates) | State of Guatemala | Terms of up to 15 years; denominations of Q10,000.00, Q100,000.00, Q1,000,000.00 and Q10,000,000.00 |
| CERTILETRAS | State of Guatemala | Terms under one year, zero coupon (sold at a discount), settled before 31 December of the year of issue |
| CDPs (certificados de depósito a plazo) | Banco de Guatemala | Terms close to one year, sometimes longer; denominations of Q100,000.00, Q1,000,000.00 and Q10,000,000.00 |
| Pagarés (private debt) | Companies listed on the BVN | Fixed income; the BVN says all private debt it currently lists is pagarés, in quetzales or US dollars; it puts their usual term at 12 to 24 months and says its regulations fix neither a minimum nor a maximum term |
| Reporto (repo) | Between two parties, through brokers | Short-term financing or investment, most of it for 1 to 7 days |
| Acciones (shares) | Sociedades anónimas | Variable income; preferred or common |
The BVN says any duly registered person or company can buy public-debt securities through authorised brokers.
Who issues. The BVN’s Emisores Activos page, read 8 October 2026, lists 23 names: banks (among them Banco Industrial, Banco G&T Continental, Banco de América Central, Banco Promerica and Banco Credicorp), leasing and card companies, three real-estate investment funds (Gibraltar, Los Crestones and Vista), Transporte de Energía Eléctrica del Norte, and others. One entry, Contecnica, is marked as absorbed by Banco Industrial. The BVN adds that publishing issuers’ information is not an investment suggestion.
How much trades
| Traded volume, as reported by the BVN on 7 October 2026 | Quetzales | US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| That day | Q2,184,025,984.86 | US$27,747,866.01 |
| Month to date | Q11,196,847,647.19 | US$150,790,002.35 |
| Year to date | Q798,867,383,245.71 | US$6,306,267,382.87 |
The BVN publishes these totals daily; the volume page does not break them down by instrument.
Is there a stock index?
The statistics menu on the BVN home page, read 8 October 2026, offers overnight rates (Tasas Overnight), repos (Reportos), primary-market auctions, the yield curve (Curva de Rendimiento), the secondary market, traded volume and foreign exchange (SPID and SINEDI). None of those items is a share index.
How to invest, step by step
The BVN’s How to Invest page sets out this sequence:
- Pick an Agente de Bolsa. Only brokers can trade on the BVN’s systems.
- Open the relationship. Sign form CB-01, Inicio de Relación, of the Superintendencia de Bancos’ Intendencia de Verificación Especial (IVE), and the broker’s contract.
- Agree the commission. Each broker has its own commission scheme.
- Choose. The broker shows the options and their risks and refers you to each issue’s prospectus; you read it and decide.
- Instruct in writing. The broker places the order and must report the completed trade to you in writing.
- Selling early. To sell before maturity, ask a broker to offer the securities on the secondary market; the sale depends on another investor wanting to buy.
The small-investor Treasury bond programme (democratización)
The BVN describes democratización de la deuda pública as a government programme, planned for implementation at the end of 2017, that lets individuals buy government bonds with accessible amounts and commissions. What its pages say:
- Who: any individual. The bonds are book-entry (electronic records).
- How much: minimum Q5,000, then multiples of Q1,000, up to Q1,000,000 per fiscal year.
- Where: through an Agente de Bolsa or a bank authorised to place the bonds over the counter (ventanilla).
- Yield: set in small-investor auctions held, in the BVN’s words, roughly once a month; over-the-counter sales between auctions use the latest auction’s weighted average rate. Brokers bidding for small investors in an auction can get a premium of up to 0.15% over the auction cut-off.
- Interest: paid every 6 months into the bank account you name (or, the steps page says, by cheque at the broker’s office), calculated as nominal value x interest rate x days elapsed / 360.
- Tax: the BVN says the interest is exempt under article 71, literal (i), of Decreto 101-97; a capital gain on a secondary-market sale falls under the applicable tax rules.
- Guarantee: the BVN says the bonds are backed by the State of Guatemala.
- Costs: the commission charged on the initial purchase, which the BVN says already includes its own fee; at each coupon payment the broker may deduct custody or handling costs.
Brokers’ commissions for small investors
As published on the BVN’s commissions page, read 8 October 2026. The table does not state the currency of the minimum.
| Agente de Bolsa | Commission | Minimum | How calculated | Passes on custody costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercado de Transacciones | 0.30% (bond maturing 14/04/2027), 0.35% (14/04/2028), 0.40% (13/04/2029) | 150.00 | Flat | No |
| BAC Valores Guatemala | 0.50% | 500.00 | Flat | No |
| LAFISE Valores | 0.50% | 500.00 | Mixed | Yes |
| Portafolio de Inversiones | 0.50% | 0.00 | Mixed | Yes |
| Cibest Capital Guatemala | 0.50% | 0.00 | Flat | No |
| Asesores Bursátiles de Occidente | 0.54% | 0.00 | Mixed | No |
| Util Valor | 0.50% | 300.00 | Flat | No |
| Valores Summa | 0.50% | 0.00 | Mixed | Yes |
| IDC Valores | 0.50% | 0.00 | Flat | No |
| Casa de Bolsa de los Trabajadores | 0.2205% | 0.00 | Annualised | No |
| FIVA | 0.50% | 0.00 | Mixed | Yes |
| Valores CMI | 0.500% (10,000-250,000), 0.375% (251,000-500,000), 0.250% (501,000-1,000,000) | 0.00 | Flat | Yes |
| Inversiones GEA Capital | 0.50% | 0.00 | Flat | No |
| Casa de Bolsa Rural | 0.25% | 0.00 | Mixed | Yes |
How the BVN defines the calculation methods: Flat, nominal value x percentage price x commission; Mixed, annualised for terms under one year and flat for terms over one year; Annualised, the percentage is for one year and is adjusted to the term. Passes on custody costs means the broker passes on custody and administration costs. The same page has a table for banks with no rows filled in.
The BVN’s separate list of brokers for small investors also has 14 firms, but not the same 14: GDI Valores is on the list and not in the commission table, and Asesores Bursátiles de Occidente is in the commission table and not on the list.
Can a foreigner invest?
None of the BVN pages we read on 8 October 2026 states a nationality or residency rule for investors. They say any individual can buy the small-investor bonds and any duly registered person or company can buy public debt through authorised brokers. The basic documents they name are the Contrato de Comisión Mercantil and the IVE form, and they add that the broker or bank may ask for more. Ask the broker what it requires of a non-resident before you transfer money.
Contact
Bolsa de Valores Nacional, S.A.: 7a Avenida 5-10, Zona 4, Centro Financiero, Torre 2, Nivel 9, Guatemala. Phone (502) 2338-4400, info@bvnsa.com.gt. Website: bvnsa.com.gt.
Related
- CDP rates in Guatemala: the bank deposit alternative, with Banguat’s average deposit rate.
- USD accounts in Guatemala, if you hold dollars.
- Guatemala banking: every banking page on the site.
- Exchange rates today.
Sources: Bolsa de Valores Nacional, S.A. (bvnsa.com.gt), pages Información General, Estructura BVN y CVN, Cómo Invertir, En qué invertir, Emisores Activos, Volumen Negociado, Listado de Agentes de Bolsa, and the democratización pages (Qué es, Pasos para invertir, Preguntas frecuentes, Comisiones, Listado de agentes), all read 8 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Guatemala have a stock market?
Yes: the Bolsa de Valores Nacional, S.A. (BVN), which says it has provided the venue, infrastructure and rules for brokers (Agentes de Bolsa) to trade securities since 1987. Its subsidiary Central de Valores Nacional (CVN), operating since 2011, holds securities in custody and settles BVN trades. The market is governed by the Ley del Mercado de Valores y Mercancías, Decreto 34-96, and securities must be registered in the Registro del Mercado de Valores before they can trade on the BVN.
What can you buy on the Guatemala stock exchange?
The BVN’s own investment page describes government debt (Treasury bonds called Bonos del Tesoro AC and CERTIBONOS, with terms of up to 15 years, and CERTILETRAS of under a year), Banco de Guatemala CDPs, private debt (it says all private debt issued through the BVN is currently pagarés, issued in quetzales or US dollars, and puts their usual term at 12 to 24 months) and repos (reportos), most of them for 1 to 7 days. It also explains what shares (acciones) are.
Is there a Guatemala stock market index?
The statistics menu on the BVN home page, read 8 October 2026, lists overnight rates, repos, primary-market auctions, the yield curve, the secondary market, traded volume and foreign exchange. None of those items is a share index.
How do I invest on the Guatemala stock exchange?
Through an Agente de Bolsa: the BVN says only its brokers can trade on its systems. To start, the investor signs form CB-01, Inicio de Relación, of the Superintendencia de Bancos’ Intendencia de Verificación Especial (IVE), signs a contract with the broker, and agrees the broker’s commission, since each broker has its own scheme. The broker then shows the options, the investor reads the prospectus, and gives written instructions.
What is the minimum to buy Guatemalan Treasury bonds?
Under the small-investor programme (democratización de la deuda pública), the BVN gives a minimum of Q5,000, then multiples of Q1,000, up to Q1,000,000 per fiscal year. The BVN’s general investment page gives a minimum of Q1,000.00 for Bonos del Tesoro AC; the BVN does not explain the difference between the two figures, so ask the broker which applies.
Can a foreigner invest on the Guatemala stock exchange?
The BVN pages we read on 8 October 2026 do not mention nationality or residency. They say any individual can buy the small-investor Treasury bonds, and that any duly registered person or company can buy public debt through authorised brokers. The basic documents they list are the Contrato de Comisión Mercantil and the IVE form, and they add that the broker or bank may ask for more. Ask the broker what it requires of a non-resident.
Is the interest on Guatemalan Treasury bonds taxed?
The BVN’s small-investor FAQ says the interest is exempt from any present or future tax under article 71, literal (i), of Decreto 101-97, so the yields it publishes are net if the bonds are held to maturity. It adds that a capital gain from selling on the secondary market falls under the applicable tax rules.
